The Ramblings of my first time casting...

[Dimner]

Based on a previous post, I was very fortunate to receive a cast bullet care package from BUCKEYE BANDIT and Rattlesnake Charlie. Having Inspected, loaded and shot those boolits, I was able to get a good feel for what a quality cast boolit is like and what kind of boolit my late 1950's Marlin 336 likes to shoot.

So now it was time to dive into my first time casting.

I received a $100 amazon gift card from work, so I ordered a

Lyman big dipper pot
Lyman ladle
Lyman M Die
Lee 311-100-2R

A trip to the dollar store for some casting accouterments and I was ready to go.

The cheapo lee 311-100-2r is my rig to learn on. Cast my first batch on Saturday. Out of probably a 100 tries... I got 11 usable bullets :shock: .

I had a feeling that was going to happen. You only can read so much and prepare so much. I have read tons and tons of information, Lymans #3 and #4 manuals. This website... youtube... etc. I was closely monitoring my mold temp and my lead temp, but there is one thing that is missing in much of the manuals. They tend to just gloss over the part of pouring lead. I think there is like 2 paragraphs on it in the lyman #4 cast bullet manual.

Pouring lead... it's not really a skill that can be written about or explained with much success. It's just something that one has to do. Then do again, and then do again, hundreds of times. Really nothing more valuable than experience in this respect.

So not to be discouraged, Sunday I tried my 2nd batch. Out of about 100 or so, I got 65ish bullets. Difference being I sped up my process to keep the mold really hot and I decided to cast out of just one cavity. I experimented with different kinds of pours. Just dumping it right in the hold. Doing the mold and ladle twist. Fast pour. Slow pour. Over pouring... etc.

Still difficult for me to tell which works best. Some methods worked some of the times, some methods worked most of the time. Only more practice will reveal what the common denominator is with the successful pours. After a while I was able to get good bullets 4/5 times or so. I was happy with that.

Then I tried casting in both cavities. Not sure why, but I cannot for the life of me get 2 good bullets to drop. But that's fine by me, I'll stick doing one at a time. Until I can boringly drop perfect bullets each time.

My bases could be a bit better. Some are a bit out of round. Some I cut the sprue too soon, or other minute defects. I think they will work just fine. Bases will probably get crisper if I resize to .311, but I will try them un-sized first. They are dropping at .312. My 336 slugs at .3085. BUCKEYE BANDIT sent me some 311316 gas checked sized at 311.5. Those shot wonderfully out of my 336, so I think these Lee boolits will do well at the slow velocities I am looking for.


So that's my journey so far.... Any opinions, comments or suggestions?

I plan on continuing to practice, practice, practice...

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p575/dimner_bcusa/Mobile%20Uploads/BCUSA_Posts/2016-03-08%2021.06.34_zpst7hwbetq.jpg (http://s1156.photobucket.com/user/dimner_bcusa/media/Mobile%20Uploads/BCUSA_Posts/2016-03-08%2021.06.34_zpst7hwbetq.jpg.html)

[FredBuddy]

I'm a relative beginner, too. Those look good to me.

Keep on keepin' on.........

[jcren]

Small capacity molds are hard to keep hot. I have a 6 cavity Lee .356-95 that is a pain. Looking good and as you said practice makes perfect. If you haven't, pick up a cheap single burner hot plate to preheat your molds, huge improvement on those small bullets. I just use a $20 coil type with an old circular saw blade laid on it.

[bedbugbilly]

Casting is like learning to swim - you have to get your feet wet before you dive in. Sounds like you are learning and you'll continue to learn . . . and get faster . . . as your casting sessions go on.

I cast (and have for 50 + years) with a 10# pot over a propane gas hot plate and use a Lyman bottom pour dipper. If you are not getting a cavity to fill, I'm guessing that maybe your mold is not hot enough - which can happen as you learn how low to let your pour cool, etc. You have to get a steady cadence going.

I use all brands of molds - Lee, NOE, RCBS, Ideal/Lyman, etc. but with my propane hot plate, I can set the mold on top of the hot plate next to the flame to heat up while my lead melts. I have never used a lead pot such as you have but I think that some will probably come along and suggest that you buy a hot plate to set you mold on to heat up as your lead melts. Once you mold is hot enough, what you pour in will not cool so quickly and will do a cavity fill out.

Don't get discouraged on it as you found out a lot from your first session to your second - it will get better! Stick with it and you'll soon develop a technique that works for you and you'll be dropping them in steady fashion. From looking at the photos of your boolits, I'm guessing you mold needs to be hotter and you alloy does as well as I think I'm seeing some light wrinkles on a couple of them. You're doing good though . . . now send 'em down range! Enjoy!

[s mac]

You didn't mention your alloy, but unless it is soft lead you probably need to cast a little faster, I like a slight frost, hotter mould. Pure lead will be shiny like your pics but WW alloy will be frosty.

Looking good, keep going.

[Dimner]

You didn't mention your alloy, but unless it is soft lead you probably need to cast a little faster, I like a slight frost, hotter mould. Pure lead will be shiny like your pics but WW alloy will be frosty.

Looking good, keep going.

Unfortunately, the alloy I am using is is not very well known to me. I bought pretty much mystery lead from ebay. Supposedly it's somewhere around 14bhn and has 5.5% antimony.

I agree with the frosting of the bullets. I was surprised to see that they are all so shiny. I have a Tru-Tel thermometer on the way so I can accurately monitor lead temp. My goal being for frosty bullets. I have tried casting faster, but my technique is not there yet, perhaps a hotter lead will help.

[Yodogsandman]

Sometimes it takes three or four casting sessions before a mold will behave and start dropping great boolits. Don't get discouraged, you got it! They look good to me!

When loading, load light charges for plain based boolits. Think fast pistol or shotgun powders. You'll get leading somewhere over 1400 FPS or so.

Hope those short boolits will feed good for your Marlin. Be aware that you might have to leave the top lube groove out of the case neck for proper function.

[toallmy]

It seems like you are getting better , a lot faster than I did . I cast so many wrinkled bullets I thought I had zink in my mix . Practice makes perfect .

[popper]

Close the sprue plate when the mould is closed and upside down, keep it completely CLOSED. Off center cuts are OK but due to plate not closed and it will effect the pour. Cut sprue with gloved hand, not a whack. Pour next to the hinge screw first then the other, Ladle pouring complicates it a bit, tree hands needed.

[brassrat]

I'm new and only fired up 6 or 8 times with some great results and some remelts of 90% or more, once home.

[aephilli822]

Let me start by saying mine look worse than those. if those are wrinkled, I really have some practicing to do....
the middle one looks like it has a bad spot on the heel, wouldn't that let gas escape at the muzzle and throw off accuracy?

[jimb16]

Looking at the picture, I'm guessing that the lead and mold need to be a bit hotter. Clean/reclean your mold with a good solvent. I prefer lighter fluid, but others use different products. Then I smoke the mold. Others will tell you not to smoke it. Opinions vary on that subject, but I have success doing that. Make sure when you pour, you pour quickly and leave a good puddle on top of the sprue plate. S Mac is correct in suggesting a light frosting on the boolit. That indicates sufficient temperature and a hot enough mold. Just don't over-heat either. Time and practice! You look like you are off to a good start.

[gwpercle]

Don't despair , there is a definite and extended learning curve to go thru. You got to pay you dues!
The new Lee mould's seem to have a lot of cutting oil in the pores of the metal, I soak and scrub in acetone , then cast 100 or so. Set on top of pot and let cool. After three sessions the mould will be clean of residual oils and broken in. The break in is important it's like seasoning a cast iron skillet, after it is seasoned , boolits will be better.

[Thumbcocker]

Hotter lead.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Your thought process and writing is well grounded, just keep it up, it will come around with diligence.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Your casts are reasonably good. Virtually no one gets it right the first few times. There are simply too many variables that have to be gotten used to and that takes quite a bit of "hands on" and making mistakes. And it takes practice!! Get a little tin...bout 1% or 2% into the mix. Tin adds to the "flowability" of the alloy. Raise your temp...cold alloy does not flow or fill out well. Sprue cutter cannot be too tight as it will not let air escape quickly enough. Plate should sit flat on tops of the blocks...not sloppy but when the mold is tilted the plate should slide on its own weight. With the ladle tit in place on the sprue hole, rotate the mold so that the cavity fills then raise the ladle so that some alloy puddles over the hole...this will provide some extra for when the bullet shrinks and there is something to feed the base of the bullet. If your alloy is too hot you may get some frosting which doesn't effect anything...if you don't like frosting then you can lower the heat or just clean it off later with some 0000 steel wool. It takes some practice to get the hang of ladling two cavities, you'll get some sloppy sprues to start with but it will get better. You'll see that your number of rejects will become smaller. Good luck with your work. LLS

[wv109323]

Others have listed things to try. It appears there is more heat needed. That could be casting faster, hotter lead, hotter mold, hotter sprue plate or hotter ladle. I would try to get the lead into the mold as quick as possible. You may need to get hot lead out of the pot for each bullet poured. Leave enough sprue to allow for the shrinkage to get a sharp base. Just things to try to get a better bullet. I admire your efforts to be a self starter. It is hard to learn on your own.

[Mitch]

they look great for starting out.it not be long befor you get some great looking boolits.The good part is lead is allways reuseable.I am thinking the thermometerwill help you a lot.mine craped out last week I I could not cast a thing it was off by a lot and low to boolt.I agree more heat needed.frosty boolits shoot just fine.then you can back off from frosty.keep up the good work

[Walter Laich]

I wash new molds, which yours is no longer, in Dawn, then spray with acetone and finally smoke each cavity with a kitchen match. Most molds will have some cutting oil still in them. I notice that 4 to 5 casting sessions are usually needed to get rid of this residue.

Agree on hot plate. See if you can get mold too hot. It does take a bit to get it up there. Better too warm than cold.

Thermometer is a very good idea.

Keep at it--thing I love about casting is all the bad ones disappear back into the pot.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

on all my 2 cavity molds I use a dremel tool and make a trough between the two cavities kind of shaped like a upside down v or u and I can pour in the middle and fill both cavities at once, but that would be up to you it is your mold. but as the others said, heat your mold and lead a little more and you should be set. you are already doing a good job! Good luck to you.
Travis

[Petro58]

If you don't have a Thermometer get one. There are several variations / Manufacturers of them. Another option is the way I went. I have a Multi meter that has F & C Temp setting I bought a Probe on eBay for $3 that was shipped from China. The same probe others are selling for $11-18, took 2 weeks to get it but worth the wait to me. Works great. Seems that mine Cast best around 750f. Your results may vary. Hang with it, like anything there's a learning curve.

[dverna]

Mystery alloy can cause issues that will drive you nuts.

It it is easier to start with something like a .38 Spl or .45 ACP as they are very forgiving. Rifle bullets need to be near perfect or they will not shoot well.

[Dimner]

Thank you so much for everyone's suggestions. Even though I have a thermometer arriving in the mail tomorrow, I decided to try again with the pot on max. (I realize the lyman pot might need rheostat adjustment, which i will do if the thermometer tells me to).

So I tried again everything on max. I dont have a hot plate, I know they are inexpensive, but right now the budget is tight and there are tools I need to get (like sizing dies). Heating up on the side of the pot seems to work pretty well for now. I had wrinkle free casts after 2 attempts.

But I'm getting ahead of my self. After a bit more reading on the site here, I realized that everyone suggests trashing the instructions that come with the lee molds. So I excessively scrubbed my mold with a mild synthetic steel wool and dishsoap. Afterwards, I applied some mold lube per the directions (purchased off ebay).

Bullets were coming out great! I think the combination of hotter lead, hotter mold, clean mold and lubed (the right way) mold, as well as this being the 3rd try (break in period) really made all the difference. I was able to get many perfect casts with both cavities. Still working on that skill.

Then it started happening again.... my sprue cuts were all jagged and ugly. This happened before in my 2nd cast. And it seems to occur after I have been casting a while. I'm thinking it occurs when the sprue plate is really hot. Then I remembered some advice from this thread..


... Cut sprue with gloved hand, not a whack. ...

I figured it wouldn't make any difference but I gave it a try.

BAM. Perfect sprue cuts every time! and I mean every time. Check out this pic. One of these 4 boolits make me smile. It was cast with the smile, not something I added.

So thanks again to everyone and their advice. I'm not dropping them perfect every time, but I am getting much closer!

http://i1156.photobucket.com/albums/p575/dimner_bcusa/Mobile%20Uploads/BCUSA_Posts/2016-03-11%2011.37.05_zpsw0kzrpor.jpg (http://s1156.photobucket.com/user/dimner_bcusa/media/Mobile%20Uploads/BCUSA_Posts/2016-03-11%2011.37.05_zpsw0kzrpor.jpg.html)

[lablover]

Gotta say this is a great read for yet another newbie ready to start! Awesome thread!

[Dimner]

Howdy everyone,

I wanted to do a follow up to my original post. It's been a crazy and very fun past month of bullet casting. I have been doing a vast amount of casting and shooting to test my casts and I have finally came up with a couple really good recipes. So I thought I would share what I have found.

I started with the LEE 312-100-2R but quickly scored an old ideal 3118. Single cavity mold. Testing the two head to head, the 3118 came out a little more accurate and is a bit easier to cast with. Although it has one dang cavity!

With the 3118 I have pretty much perfected my small game load for my 30-30. This load is why I got into bullet casting in the first place. I wanted a small game load that clocked around 1200 fps due to it being pretty flat shooting out to 50 yards. My only other requirement is it had to be plain based.

I had some tweaking I had to do because I'm using a Marlin 336 with the micro grooves. I first tried trailboss. Trail boss is a great powder when it comes to velocity spreads. I commonly got standard deviations of 4 and spreads of 5fps or so in 5 shot groups. But the groups would not close under 1.25" at 50yards.

Then I switched to unique and it all came together. I think it has to do with the pressure curve of unique vs trailboss. So here's the load.

Marlin 336 Micro Groove
Alloy: Clip on wheel weights
Mold: Lyman 3118
Weight as Cast: 119gr
Sized: .311
Trim Length to reloading manual spec
Sellier and Bellot LR Primers
COAL 2.440"
Powder: Unique 5.5 grains
Velocity: 1200 fps
5 shot Groups: .6" to .7" at 50yard



A few more notes....

The COAL pushes the bullet into the case about .004" more.
I tested S&B primers vs CCI and Winchester. I did not see a significant difference to warrant the extra price. Recent sale at cabelas had a brick of S&B primers at $21
Sized to .311 tested better than unsized.
Bullets were weight sorted, but I will test without sorting soon.
6.5 grains @ 1330fps produced .8" groups
4.1 grains @ 1010fps produced .8" groups

I'm really happy with this load. It's going to be my squirrel hunting load and very cheap to produce. The other reason I wanted this load is for my switch to a williams FP receiver sight. This will be my training load. I have already cast around 600 of these.


Next up is my dive into gas checked bullets. I was able to get .5" inch groups with unique on the first go around with the lyman 311672! I had to beagle the mold some to get them to drop at .311. From the factory it was dropping .309. Here is the load:

Marlin 336 Micro Groove
Alloy: Clip on wheel weights
Mold: Lyman 311672
Weight as Cast: 169gr
Gator Gas Checked
Sized: .311
Trim Length to reloading manual spec
Sellier and Bellot LR Primers
COAL: As long as it I could seat the bullet and still have my rifle eject an un-fired round.
Powder: Unique 9.7 grains
Velocity: 1400 fps
5 shot Groups: .5" at 50yard (4th group I shot with this mold)

This load will be my 100yard target practice round. I plan on working with this boolit and either BLC-2 or H4895 to work up a 1900ish-fps load for deer hunting and longer range target practice.

I'll try to get some pics later tonight.